Thursday, February 23, 2017

Called Over the Top

Be Outrageous. Be stupid.

Jesus said so.

Your friends are supposed to think that you’re crazy.

Seriously.

If you were here, I mentioned this on Sunday, but it’s worth saying again. In Matthew (5:38-48) Jesus makes a series of statements that often begin with “You have heard it said, but…” in which he tells his listeners that the conventional wisdom, the ordinary assumptions of daily life, were just plain wrong. Everyone assumed that the best defense against violence was to fight back, taking an eye for an eye, but Jesus says that the only way to reduce violence is to refuse to participate in it, to “turn the other cheek.”

Most of us have heard that before, but that was just the beginning. He also says that” if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.” This is extraordinary. In our litigious, twenty-first century society most of us make two errors in reading this. First, we incorrectly assume that Jesus means for us to give a shirt to someone who won a lawsuit, but that isn’t it at all. Jesus said, “If anyonewants to sue you…” so his instruction is to do an end run around the legal system, call it a loss, and just give it to them. Our second mistake comes from our relative wealth and our expectation of the same on the Biblical story. But Jesus was talking to people who lived in an entirely different world, most of them probably only owned one coat. And so, Jesus’ instruction to “hand over your coat” is not only one of generosity, but one that is over-the-top, crazy, and disturbingly generous. This is generosity that expensive and costly, and not just giving that is comfortable and comes from our excess.

Jesus continues, saying “If anyone forces you to walk one mile, go with them two.” And, while this seems relatively straightforward, most of us still don’t understand the root of his comment. As I understand the history of it, under Roman occupation, one of the standing rules that the occupied nation lived under, was that if any Roman soldier asked, any citizen had to accompany them for one mile and carry their pack, or whatever else they demanded you to carry. So remembering that most people really resented the presence of the Roman soldiers in the first place, Jesus is saying that you need treat your enemies and the people you despise, and here it is again, with…disturbing generosity.

Why should we do all this?

Jesus answered that by saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” We are called to behave in these strange, unfamiliar, and unpopular ways because these are the things that God does. This is how God behaves. And if we have any desire to be associated with him, to be called “children of God” then we probably ought to act like God does.

But going this far still wasn’t enough. Jesus pounds the point several more times to make sure that we really begin to understand just how crazy we’re supposed to be. Jesus says, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” That’s pretty plain, but if you need a modern translation, here it is.

It doesn’t impress anyone that your love is “just as good” as the tax collectors, or that you are “just as loving” as everyone else. Being “just like everyone else” means that you are no different than everyone else and that your faith is no better than their lack of faith. The followers of Jesus Christ have been called to be different; we are called to a higher standard. Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

So get out there. Go out into your neighborhoods, and your places of business. Be willing to take a loss. Go out into the world and be extravagantly, disturbingly, generous even when it is costly to you. Be so generous that people think you’re crazy. Be nice. But be so nice that everyone thinks that you must be crazy… or stupid… or both. Be friendly and outgoing. Be loving. But your friendliness and your love should be so over the top that it gets people talking about you.

Be outrageous.

Be stupid.

Your friends are supposed to think that you’re crazy.

Remember our goal isn’t to blend in; our goal is to stand out.

Our goal isn’t to be “just like everyone else,” our goal… is to be perfect.

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